Paragraph 4:20–22

4:20a

Then: This verse begins with a Greek conjunction that is often translated as “and.” Some English versions, such as the English Standard Version, translate it that way. Other versions, such as the New Living Translation (2004) and Good News Translation, do not translate this conjunction here. However, since the events in this paragraph occurred immediately after the events in 4:16–19, in some languages, it may be natural to begin this paragraph with a time word or phrase. The Berean Standard Bible and several other English versions (New International Version, NET Bible) use the word “then.” Another way to translate this is:

After that

Begin this paragraph in a way that is natural in your language.

He rolled up the scroll: When Jesus had finished reading the passage from Isaiah, he rolled up the scroll on which it was written. He did this so that he could give the scroll to someone to put in the place where they kept it.

Make sure that the verb you choose matches the way you translate “scroll.” If you translated scroll as “book” in 4:17a, use an appropriate verb in your language. For example:

He shut/closed the book

4:20b

attendant: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as attendant refers to the man serving at the synagogue during this Sabbath meeting. This attendant was probably the same person who handed Jesus the scroll in 4:17a.

Some other ways to translate attendant are:

assistant (New Century Version)
-or-
helper
-or-
man serving ⌊at the synagogue⌋

4:20c

and sat down: It was the Jewish custom for a teacher to sit down while he taught. So the words sat down imply that Jesus was ready to start teaching. They do not imply that he was finished with what he wanted to do.

In some languages, it may be necessary to make this explicit. For example:

sat down ⌊to begin teaching⌋

4:20d

The eyes of everyone…were fixed on Him: The clause The eyes of everyone…were fixed on Him is an idiom. It means that everyone was concentrating on Jesus. The people in the synagogue were all giving Jesus their full attention. They wanted to hear what he would say next.

Some other ways to translate this are:

Everyone…watched him closely. (God’s Word)
-or-
Everyone…stared at him intently. (New Living Translation (1996))

in the synagogue: The word synagogue refers to the same building in Nazareth as is mentioned in 4:16b. It was the place where the people gathered to pray, read Scripture, teach their beliefs, and worship God. For more information, see the note on “synagogues” at 4:15a and synagogue in the Glossary.

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